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3 Foot Nano Tank (1 Viewer)

eschulist said:
I don't like the look of this one as much as the others I linked or the razor. But, its the best of both worlds (T5s, and Full Spectrum LEDs) 4 channels to control and is 36" long.
http://aquatic.en.alibaba.com/produ...rolled_submersible_led_aquarium_lighting.html
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Looks to be the same model branded and sold by a US distributor.
http://www.prestige-led.com/products.html

Its 10" wide and would be on a 8.5" wide tank. I'd probably only run 2 T5s on the inner most brackets.

Or should I just go with this model.
http://aquatic.en.alibaba.com/produ...ed_coral_reef_aquarium_lights_SL_A001_90.html
And don't even worry about T5s?
 
Disclaimer: I am not even remotely close to being a lighting expert.

But I would be interested in seeing how the LED/T5 combo looks and works.
Ever since I switched from T5 to LED, I have felt like I had the best red/yellow/orange colors under the T5 bulbs. And my LPS did much better; but over time the LPS corals have adjusted to the LEDs.
I've often debated about adding a couple of T5 bulbs into my canopy to see if it makes a difference.

But back to your set up, the last model you posted has some nice features.
The four channels and remote control are nice features. But does it list which/how many of each LEDs are included? It states "Emitting Color: blue, white, purple, red, according to customer requirement", but what are the ratios? And the photo looks to have a green LED (not listed, though.)

BTW… Congrats on the new addition! Very cute!
 
jlanger said:
But back to your set up, the last model you posted has some nice features.
The four channels and remote control are nice features. But does it list which/how many of each LEDs are included? It states "Emitting Color: blue, white, purple, red, according to customer requirement", but what are the ratios? And the photo looks to have a green LED (not listed, though.)

BTW… Congrats on the new addition! Very cute!
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Thanks, shes lots of fun.


This is the same model number and shows better pictures and descriptions.
http://aquatic.en.alibaba.com/produ...ium_led_light_36_inch_led_aquarium_light.html

As for the LED T5 combo I too feel like the T5s would add that little extra color I'm missing. I see the mother colonies online or in person in other tanks and I know they can look better than they do under my current light.
 
It was mentioned on nano-reef to check out the Maxspect Glaive.
http://reefbuilders.com/2014/05/28/maxspect-glaive-focuses-superb-led-color-mixing/
http://www.incredibleaquarium.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70_69&products_id=3682

It looks awesome and has the tight clusted LEDs for mixing, however after further research its a low end light for FO and softies! WHY!!?!

Im pretty set on this unit $290 unless anyone can steer me otherwise today.
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Probably the assumption based on each cluster is only 7w. You tank being so little it might not matter. I don't see any PAR numbers so best to ask the guys at coralvue ( sponsor forum on reef central ) if they have any numbers to report to see if would be a good fit. Chris will tell it to you straight. It may be true low light when looking at the typical 20-24" tall tank but since yours is way less it might work.

I would like to know more on what "Basic" controller means. Obviously looks dimmable via remote so may just dimmable and on/off and not able to have multiple set points through out the light cycle.
 
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David Grigor said:
Probably the assumption based on each cluster is only 7w. You tank being so little it might not matter. I don't see any PAR numbers so best to ask the guys at coralvue ( sponsor forum on reef central ) if they have any numbers to report to see if would be a good fit. Chris will tell it to you straight. It may be true low light when looking at the typical 20-24" tall tank but since yours is way less it might work.

I would like to know more on what "Basic" controller means. Obviously looks dimmable via remote so may just dimmable and on/off and not able to have multiple set points through out the light cycle.
Click to expand...

Chris said it is meant for Fish Only and low demanding corals. And that it must be used on a timer to automatically turn on and off. The remote only controls the dimming of the colors when instructed to.

Im feeling more confident in my 36" Chinese full spectrum razor and it having the features I'm looking for. The disco effect will probably be fairly pronounced with it having so many LEDs and colors. Has anyone removed all of the lens besides white so all of the colored LEDs blur together more easily but allow for the whites to provide shimmer?
 
Go for it !

Features looks fine, I like the programability features has all the ones I use the most. I also like that the whites , blues, uvs are all on seperate channels so plenty of flexability to dialing in the color you prefer. Thats what I hate the most on the photon I got is the white is not 100% seperate so really hard to get exactly color I want. I've run clusters and evenly spaces throughout and the color blending has never been an issue for me, likely you will be fine without any mods especially if it has 120degree but the stats never say if 60/90/120.
 
Too many options, I can't keep up with which lights are still in the running.

If REEF LED's don't start to become more homogeneous and consistent to figure out what to buy and how to program, I will probably never even try them. Grandpa can barely program the VCR. Too many options leaves too many opportunities for error and failure. Those of you that wade through it and can figure it out and have success, more power to you.

I set up my WXM a few weeks back to run my vortech pumps. Looks like I set up the anti-synch pump incorrectly (10% power) which greatly reduced my flow from that side. Of course I didn't notice it until I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get my tube anemone to stand up straight. After a week or two of repositioning and tinkering, I realized the pump's issue was in the WXM setup. It may be unrelated, but it might have been the cause of my Oregon tort starting to recede from deep inside the branches. I ended up cutting it up into 3 oddly shaped pieces. Point is, technology is great, but too much of it in the wrong hands (mine) is dangerous. Still not ready for LEDS.
 
Sorry James, there are just so many options and while I love the ability to choose exactly what I want and need each one seems to have a drawback of some extent, and I have to find a happy medium.

Thanks for the input David. I too feel pretty good about this 36" Chinese Razor light. I don't see a whole lot of disco with my current light and it has all of the LED evenly spaced across the whole fixture.


But sorry to add more confusion James but I just found yet another light that might be even better than the previous one, but its $440 before shipping. I'm not sure if I want to go over $4-500 for my lighting.
http://www.aquasunrise.com/List.asp?L-8290539990.html

Includes Ultra Violet LEDs and the Violets are split apart from the red and greens to be controlled separately. LEDs are clustered together for better mixing. The extra cost is probably in the extra LEDs and the Wifi control. 240w over 12 gallons seems pretty insane. Every channel will probably never go over 30-40%
 
The one with the clusters because the pucks have different mixes of colors in them and not all the same, I don't think that would solve anything regarding mixing not much better off than the other unit. Red/green sepearate is a bonus though as of all the leds those are the most likely you want to turn down if coral colors start to look faded. The other unit the only option would be sticking black tape over the reds but with only two of them in the cheaper unit your probably okay.
 
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I pulled the trigger on the Razor looking unit. I too thought the same thing with covering LEDs. I do that with my current light since it is nondimming.

I plan to have channel 3 (red, green, violet) turned really low, but if red and green still bug me I'll just cover them up. And I'd still have full dimming and ramping control of my blues, whites, and cyan with those covered.
 
Good choice, I'm thinking bang for the buck that looks pretty solid just so long as it holds up. Once you get it and can take a good look at it, I'd probably track down a few extra leds in case it needs to be replaced someday probably easier to find now that it will be years later when you need it.
 
I just set up the light and this thing is AWESOME! It is built really well and is surprisingly very heavy compared to my old light.

I love the added look of cyan, 2 different colors of violet + a lot of blue. The corals pop while still having a fairly large amount of light. Before I could only get the colors to really fluoresce under 100% blue, now I can see the fluorescence with all the LEDs running. This means the fish are their natural color (instead of super dark blue/black) and I get good coral color at the same time.

Right now Im only fiddling with the light preview function ramping each channel up and down until I light certain blends. Next is to decide on which blends I like and have them change in a natural look throughout the day. And dang there are so many combinations it will be hard to choose.

The ONLY problem I have so far is the 4 rods they sent to mount the light have screw holes drilled at an angle. None of them are straight to allow the bracket to be secured. So for right now the light is just resting on the glass bracket without having the screws go through it.
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I'll post pictures later this evening.
 
Congrats on the new light.

Be careful with the intensity of the red/green and UV LEDs.
When I switched over to LEDs, I loved how the red LEDs made my yellow/orange colors pop on the corals and fish. Against some recommendations, I turned those LEDs up higher than suggested. Over time, my LPS and some SPS started to burn from those higher levels.
I have since kept those three colored LEDs lower and the corals have recovered well.
And the yellow/orange colors still look really good.

Cannot wait to see the results.
 
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The mounting bracket will probably have to be notched to accommodate my large bulkhead drains. Right now the bracket is barely resting on the glass rim. With a large circle notched out it will be more flush and secure to the tank.

VLRmlb4l.jpg


I only wish that the plug was on the side and the top hanging inserts were inset into the fixture, or at least black/silver. I need to rework my camera settings and white balance for the new light, but its a start.
 
In order to easily see my settings and adjust the duration of each set point I made an excel graph. It has inputs that automatically graphs out the intensities before I manually enter it into the light.



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https://www.dropbox.com/s/7r1y0oiflr0ibmt/AquariumLightGraph.xlsx Right now it has 9 set points and 4 channels. It could be modified for other controllable lights if you tweak my inputs and calculations.


Im changing from a 16 3w Blue, 16 3w White fixture that ran for 10 hours a day with 6 of those being both white and blue. I thought this was a good first go. I like to see the glowing coral florescence in the early morning and before I leave to go home so this seemed to be a good mix of that plus a spike of intense light for 2-3 hours. Anyone have any comments or suggestions. I get to work at 9 and leave around 5:30.

I don't plan to have the whites go much higher than 50 or 60, or the color/purples to go above 30 as it don't look as pleasing to me. Having the red/green/purple LEDs in the 50+ area creates a pretty good disco headache.
 
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Dragged my drill press to work with a large 3" hole saw and notched my brackets so they sit flush to the glass. I also redrilled the rods so the pipes have straight holes. Screwed everything tight and set it back together. Now everything is way more stable and I can take the light off without the rods and brackets falling out.

nQ36cKS.jpg


And an updated FTS

BFUm2Sp.jpg


Still tweaking the colors and the camera. With my old LEDs there was just 1 setting now as the LEDs adjust throughout the day I have to keep changing my white balance. More than likely I will have to find the best photography setting on the light and manually enter in the values before I take more pictures. That way my custom white balance can be saved for that lighting setup.

Chris B and his friend with a 20 gallon (sorry I forgot your user name) stopped by Friday night and checked out the tank. I hope you guys had a good time chatting about our tanks.
 
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